The industry trend for some time now has been to develop a product and to subsequently launch a marketplace that offers additional applications and functionality for the base software. Google already has this with their Android marketplace for Android devices and now, the search giant has launched a Google Apps marketplace which over time will extent the functionality of a users Google apps account.

As Google puts it:

The Google Apps Marketplace offers products and services designed for Google users, including installable apps that integrate directly with Google Apps. Installable apps are easy to use because they include single sign-on, Google’s universal navigation, and some even include features that integrate with your domain’s data.

The marketplace is still in its infancy but given enough time, this has the real potential of growing into a valuable resource and could potentially offer a wide variety of tools ranging from basic accounting to customer management.

So far, there are some free applications available, but there are also over 50 companies that are selling paid applications, including Intuit Online Payroll, Manymoon (project management) and Professional Services Connect (PS Connect) for real time decision analysis.

Be sure to check out the YouTube video below that further details about the integration process.

Via: Gadget Venue, Google Blog